Surfing is a Trip

Relaxing in the pocket.
I had the captain from my yacht drop me off at this secret spot. (not my yacht and we're at the most crowded Spring Break beach in Destin). I was the only one out though.
The limper the wrist, the longer the nose ride.

Taking it high off the top.
Just about air dropped the landing.
Natalie getting some board time. Quadruple shaka... ahhh yeah.

Labels: why i havent been at work much this week

Congratulations and good luck to Mike. He's representing the panhandle Sr. Men Longboard division at the ESA regionals this weekend in Sebastian Inlet. Show them how it's done west coast style.

So I made it through the movie "Surfer Dude" last night. The local video store had it on the shelf at knee to waist high level (or head high for my daughter who picked it out for me). Normally I wouldn't think about renting a movie with Matthew McConaughey attempting to act like a surfer in it. It's pretty much a stoner movie. The main character is basically a sketch of where Spiccoli from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" left after graduating. Cast members include Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson. Lot's of pot smoking and boobs. Not enough surfing.

Best line... when a virtual reality operator, who has thousands of breaks loaded on the computer, asks the main character (a total ludite) if he had a favorite surfing spot, he replies, "yeah... but I ain't tellin' you."

went to the first day of Quiky pro today. saw 5 heats, incl mick, joel, the hobgoods(same heat, damo was on fire!)etc, etc(no disrespect they all surfed like pros)...and KS. He paddled out on what looked shorter than my fish which is a 5 11, probably like 5 8(or shorter), fattish nose and kinda rounded pin didnt look like much rocker. He was slidding tail, pulling 360s in gravity defying fashion, he must be part gecko the way he sticks to his board. What was amazing is that if you have any doubt that this man is the best in the world, just watch an actual contest, all the heats...his flow, power and artistry are clearly evident. The waves had deteriorated by his heat and he still put on a show...a true master.

I couldn't resist posting this video in Dannny's absence. I hope he's having fun in Puerto Rico while we are all freezing up here. Below is some surf from a secret spot in Georgia.

Matt, right now Mike Sturdivant and I (as part of Blue Mountain Surf) are planning some events in April (one surf school in Florida and then a paddle/kayak school in Georgia). We are launching Stone Mountain Surf this Spring to sell/rent Stand Up Paddle Boards in Georgia and beyond. I still have an eye on the calendar for an international surf trip of some sort but a couple things need to fall into place. It's summer where you are right?

(Hey Cross--no autoplaying your slideshows. You're going to burn down the blog!)

Had a surf contest this weekend. Mike and I duked it out at the pier on the island. Mike took first in longboard. The kids had a great time and weather was horrible. Good times. Kudos to the greatest surfing wife ever for taking all the photos.

A lot of these shots you've probably seen over the last year. Definitely some sweet memories in here.

I hear we're supposed to have a decent swell on Christmas.

9'6" coming through.

March 16, 2008

INCOMING!!!

May 3, 2008

Below is Discovery's announcment on Storm Surfers. Mike and I got contacted a while back by a production company (same producers that did Top Chef and Project Runway) after they saw our hurricane swell photos on www.bluemountainsurf.com. I guess they went with Tom Carroll and Ross Clark-Jones instead of Mike and me.

The show is airing in Australia only for now. I was able to watch it on Discovery's intranet. It's good. They got some crazy surf, just nothing classic. The adventure aspects in Tazmania were cool though. Tom and Ross were funny when the lines weren't scripted.

Matt, were you able to check this out?

-------------------------
Discovery Channel's STORM SURFERS Rides in on 60 Minutes Wave in Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific

Discovery Ignite's local co-production STORM SURFERS crashes onto Aussie shores this week, premiering on Discovery Channel at 8:30 pm (AEDST) on Wednesday December 17 in Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific. Combining weather prediction, science, extreme surfing and sheer bravery, the one-hour special follows former world surfing champion Tom Carroll and big wave legend Ross Clarke-Jones as they hunt down the biggest storm fronts in Australia and surf them. Between them, Tom and Ross manage to conquer the infamous Shipsterns Bluff and the mythical Dangerous Banks off the coast of Tasmania. The latest HD camera technology and GPS tracking devices give viewers a fantastic vantage point - right at the front of the surfboard - as the surfers push the limits of physical endurance in pursuit of the ultimate ride.
STORM SURFERS is a 2007 finalist for Discovery Ignite, a local co-production initiative which was launched in 2007 to generate Australian content for Discovery Channel while providing local documentary filmmakers with the opportunity to showcase their work to a worldwide audience. More information is available at www.discoverychannel.com.au/ignite.

There has been a lot of buzz around STORM SURFERS in the local press in Australia, including a three-page feature in The Sunday Telegraph (December 7) and a special on 60 Minutes on Sunday October 26. The STORM SURFERS segment, which pulled in over 1.55 million viewers, featured interviews with Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones, and footage of the pair catching monumental waves off the coast of Tasmania during the filming.

STORM SURFERS will be premiering in other markets in Asia in 2009.

Discovery Communications, Inc.
December 16, 2008

If you need any surf-related gifts this year, check out the new online store, Mike and I just added to www.BlueMountainSurf.com.

All proceeds will go towards a surf trip this Spring. I recommend the Jack Johnson Holiday CD and the new DVD Waterman. (You can listen to Jack's "Someday at Christmas" song at the site). Sorry Matt I think our store only allows US-based transactions.

No word yet on whether Santa will be able to fit a 12' standup paddleboard down my chimney.

6'4", 2 1/2", 20 1/2", shaper Steve Barber "Full Force" single to double concave, swallow tail, abit more shallow tail than my fish but same idea, middle of board very flat, hardly any rocker, with alot of volume up front, quad. Will take pictures when I can find the camera. Rode it this weekend on a ok swell about 3 feet but a bit weak. It took a bit of figuring out. This board is very tail driven, you have to plant your back foot and drive from there. If you get too much on your front foot(which I tend to do) the board will not turn and seems to stall. Once it gets going it is very fast. I think it is going to fit in nicely in my growing quiver for smallish days. It really is a bit more foam than I was after...but I am experimenting. I have 2 shapers that I have on a deal...I take care of pets, they make me boards. I have 3 more boards already to my credit!! This board is kind of an attempt at a version of Al Merrick's Pod shape. Probably more "pody" if was about 4 inches shorter.


6'4", 2 1/2", 19 3/4" Shaper Skye Burton "On Fire" different shaper to above, more standard looking board, took this to Bali, only board I took out, and handled surf up to solid 6-8 indo. Still has a fair amount of volume, again maybe too much, probably could shave another 1/8-1/4 off the thickness, the width is fine, and maybe just a touch too much foam in the tail(rounded square/thruster/FCS K2s. Single to double concave, very moderate rocker.

New iPhone surf report app from Oakley. I don't have an iPhone but this looks pretty good.

Well, back home 3 weeks now. I had the best time. I have no surfing pictures as all the surfing done on reefs that you take little boats out to. The days went like this...wake up...breakfast buffet, walk out the back of the resort, check the tide/waves etc. There will be several owners of small local wodden boats with outboard motors hoping you will use their services. You stick with the same guy each time so he takes care of you. 50,ooo rupia, about 3 bucks for a round trip out to the reef. About a 5-15min trip depending on what part of the reef you want to surf that day. You jump out of the boat, he goes back to shore to continue his services for other surfers. You tell him come back and get me in 2hrs...he does...and you are happy to climb aboard....head back to the beach...rinse off...jump in the pool....the pool has a plunge bar...so you order a Bintang or 3 if it happens to be happy hours....The waves posted on this site just recently at Blue Mountain...it/s like that...every day...some days a bit smaller, some days bigger. 6 foot there is like 10 foot here, more power. Paddled into the biggest waves of my life...and paid for it. Dreamlands was a solid 9 foot with bigger sets, I caught set waves but also got the shit kicked out of me...and was scared. Not really my idea of fun. Impossibles on the same day was smaller by about a foot or two but on dangerous reef, Pandang Pandang was perfect but so crowded and critical that I didn't bother...that's why I surfed Impossibles instead...same beach. Uluwatu that day was a solid 15 foot, I watched, as did most everybody else, only 4 people out and only saw I person catch a smaller set. Most of my surfing done on Kuta reef. I stayed at the Ramada Bintang that sits right on the reef. Biggest day there was solid 6 foot at Middles. Anyway...we had such a great time that we have already booked our flights for July next year!!! Hope everybody gets waves as soon as possible!

If "Robert Kelly Slater (b. February 11, 1972, Cocoa Beach, FL, USA), known simply as Kelly Slater" wins at Mundaka tomorrow morning, he'll clinch his third world title. I challenge you to watch the webcast, then be the first to update his Wikipedia page with the news.

My new Hurricane Ike Pics are posted on www.BlueMountainSurf.com.

You may need to towel off after watching this. I worked up a sweat just watching.

hey boys, just wondering if there are any chances of those on this blog attempting to gather somewhere, sometime for a surf, probably not considering the Gulf of Mexico. I could be a year or more away, is it worth the effort? Where would reasonable? Considering all the different proffessions we come from, we could set it up as a conference, possibly, to satisfy the tax man and then claim as an expense. Just a thought.

On Sunday, a group of seven of us (3 guys; 4 ladies) tried to surf Crooked Island between Panama City and Mexico Beach aka The Forgotten Coast (map).

The main surf break when the surf gets this big (the pass at Shell Island) had over 100 surfers there, so we thought the pass at Crooked Island would be a better choice. The warning sign posted at the boat landing across from Crooked Island (Point A) gave lots of different warnings regarding alligators, sharks, currents, and ended with "No Rescue Possible." No joke.

We only had one boat, so part of our group paid another boat to drop them off at the surf break in the pass at Crooked Island about 3 miles away (Point B). The plan was for the rest of the group to follow behind in our boat. The motor would not start on our boat, and we didn't have any way to contact the first group. I called my brother who happened to be in Mexico Beach for the weekend. He agreed to pick up the first group in his boat via the Gulf of Mexico route (Point C) and take them back to his marina through the pass at Mexico Beach. (Point D) The first group later drove back (Point E) to the boat landing to make another attempt at reaching the island.

Being without a boat, we decided to paddle straight across to the island and hike to the surf (Point F). Part of the group went right, instead of left, around a swamp and were not able to make it to the surf (Point G). They had to backtrack to the car. (Point H). The three of us that went left (including me) made it across the island and surfed until it got dark (Point I). The surf was head high and building fast but it was getting dark. We walked back the beach route (Point J) and one person hitched a ride to the car and returned for the group (Point K).

One of the cars broke down on the dirt road leading back to the group at the beach (Point L). Somehow we were able to get a tow truck on a holiday weekend to come help us in the middle of the woods.

Crazy times.

So, have you guys had any good waves from this storm?

With Katrina's anniversary passing by I did a little searching on articles for the largest waves on record. Here's a few interesting articles.

Hurricane Ivan

Lituya Bay